Fishman Sonicore Pickup in Guild B-240 EF: Need Advice

[Obrienp]

Due to arthritis in my left hand I have been selling off my long scale basses and getting shorties. I recently bought a Guild B-240 EF fretless from Thomann as a replacement for my Ibanez Aerium (SRH500). The B-240 has a Guild branded version of the Fishman Sonicore under saddle piezo pickup system. I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as the Ibanez AeroSilk system in the Aerium but the string response of the Sonicore is quite uneven. The A & D strings are much louder than the E & G strings plugged in. The A & D strings are very prone to feedback as well. The string response acoustically is fine, so it must be down to the pickup system.

 

The Sonicore seems to be one of the few dedicated piezo systems for acoustic bass and it is used in quite a few instruments in the B-240’s price bracket. I was wondering whether any of you folks have experience of it, or just generally have experience of under saddle piezos in acoustic basses? Does this sound like the pickup in the Guild is faulty, or is this par for the course with these systems? I have raised the issue with Thomann, along with the fact that the nut and bridge saddle are cut too low. The bass is basically fine apart from the setup and the amplified string balance, which might be a characteristic of the Sonicore.
 

Should I be insisting Thomann replace the guitar? My inclination is to get them to send me a replacement nut and bridge saddle, and get my local luthier to set it up properly but I don’t want to do that, if the pickup system is faulty. Any experience/ advice gratefully received!